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Web Browsers - OK, I’m connected to the Internet, now what?
If you have an Online Service like America Online or CompuServe, you will automatically be connected to their home page, and from there, you can connect to the World Wide Web using whichever browser they have available. With an ISP, depending on how your system is set up, chances are that after you connect, you will have to open your own web browser in order to begin using the World Wide Web. The two most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape.

Internet Explorer
There are several versions of Internet Explorer. The latest version of Internet Explorer 7.0 can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp. Depending on your Internet connection and the speed of your modem, it could take quite a while for you to download the program, as it is rather large.

You can browse the Web, save Web pages easily for offline reading, download software, and send e-mail and read the messages in Usenet newsgroups.

With skill in using just a handful of Explorer's features, you will be able to navigate the Internet easily and comfortably. This segment will introduce you to the main features of the Windows version of this software package.

What You Need to Know:

  • Explorer Web Browser: Learn about the main parts of the Explorer browser window - the menu bar and toolbar.

  • Print web pages: Print the whole page or just a specific frame.

  • Navigate between pages: Use hypertext links; move back and forward between pages, review where you have been.

  • Go to other places: Learn how to enter the address of a site you want to see.

  • Cache in on history: Revisit sites by using your history list.

  • Add favorites: Save the addresses of places to which you wish to return.

  • Change start page: Have IE open automatically to a site you choose.

Get help: Get additional information about the features of Internet Explorer from Microsoft.

The Explorer Control Panel
The Explorer control panel consists of tool buttons on the side and bars at the top, a scroll bar on the right side, and a progress bar at the bottom. This will describe what you see at the top of IE.

• Title Bar:
Figure 1.1 Internet Explorer Title Bar

In the figure above, do you see Internet Explorer: Home Page? This is the title of the section.

• Menu Bar:

Figure 1.2 Internet Explorer Menu Bar

Would you like to see at a glance everything you can do with Explorer? Point the mouse arrow at File on the Menu Bar and hold down the button. Read the drop-down menu. Repeat for all the other items.

• Tool Bar Buttons:

Figure 1.3 Internet Explorer Toolbar

The Toolbar gives one-click access to the most frequently used functions with these buttons: go Back a page, move Forward a page, Stop downloading a page, go Home to your start-up page.

• Address Bar:

Figure 1.4 Internet Explorer Address Bar

Where are you? The Address Bar displays the address of the document you are reading. The address is called a URL - pronounced "you-are-ell", or Uniform Resource Locator. You can enter new URLs in this space to take you to new places.

• Quick Links:

Figure 1.5 Internet Explorer Quick Links Toolbar.

The address bar also houses the Links Toolbar. Right click anywhere on the toolbar, then click to make a check mark appear next to the tool bars you want to have appear on you Internet Explorer.

Customize Links, Free Hotmail, and Windows are hypertext links to web sites provided by Microsoft at their Web servers or computers. Clicking on these links will take you to Microsoft for more information about customizing, using Hotmail for your email, and using Windows.

Hyperlinks
Hypertext links are what the World Wide Web is all about. Clicking on these hot links when the mouse hand appears will start you on a multimedia journey that can take you anywhere in the world. Links are normally underlined and in the color blue. When you pass the cursor over a hypertext link, the mouse arrow transforms to a hand with a pointing finger. Hypertext links are often embedded in an image. If a hand appears when you point the mouse at the image, there is an embedded hypertext link in that image.
NOTE - that on your return to the originating page, the hypertext link should be a different color. This is to remind you that you have "been there, done that ". There is a History that keeps a record of where you have been, usually for 20 days. You can adjust this by clicking on Tools in the menu bar and selecting Internet Options - General.
TIP: Whenever you see a hand, there is a link.
Point the mouse arrow at the hypertext link,
see the hand and click the mouse button.




The Back and Forward Buttons
The Back and Forward buttons are the standard way to move between pages, whether or not they are in frames. If you click on the down arrow between the Back and Forward buttons, you will see a list of the most recent Web pages you have viewed. Click on one for a quick return.

History of where you have been
Explorer keeps track of the pages you have visited in the current session. You may view the names of these pages by clicking on the History button in the Toolbar. A click on an earlier page will return you to that display. (It works in a similar way as the down arrow between the Back and Forward buttons.) Explorer also keeps a history over several days of sites you have visited.

Home
Lastly, you can always go Home. The Home button on the Tool bar returns you to the page that has been setup as your start-up (or home) page. The Default Start Page is the Microsoft Network at http://www.msn.com. You can change this through Tools - Internet Options - General.

  • Simply type in a new Address or

  • Use Blank to view a blank screen at start-up

  • Use Current to designate the current page you are viewing as your home page

  • Use Default to return to using the Microsoft Network home page.

  • You have mastered the basic elements of navigation. It is time to venture onto the World-Wide Web.

To go directly to a place, we must know the address. Every computer that is connected to the Web and every Web page that is stored on that computer has a unique address. In Internet lingo this is called a URL. The URL of the Rio Hondo Virtual College page, for example, http://online.riohondo.edu You can enter an address directly in the Address box underneath the Toolbar (as has been done in the diagram below for Rio Hondo Virtual College).


Figure 1.6 Internet Explorer Address Box.

Alternately you can click on File | Open from the Menu Bar to get a window in which you type an Internet address into. When in this window you can click on the down arrow to view a short history of the places you have been and from there you can click on any of the addresses and travel to that page.

Printing
IE7 is very versatile - you can print the page as you see it, portions of text from the document, selected pages from the document, pages linked to that page - and more.
TIP: Copyright Issues. It's better to be safe than sorry, so assume that all material on an GH Internet document (graphics too) is copyrighted. That means it is O.K. to print for your private F use, but not for reuse or redistribution (without the creator's permission). Some sites will state V that material is free for the taking.

The Print Dialogue Box
Select File | Print and review the options

  • As laid out on screen: Print what you see on your screen and no more. If one of the frames is not in view, you must page down to print it separately.

  • Only the selected frame: Print a frame - all pages or selected pages if you want only part of the "document".

  • All frames individually: Print one by one - not recommended.

  • Selection: Highlight text on a page and print only that selection.

  • Print all linked documents: Print the currently displayed page and the hyper linked pages. Use this option with caution - you may end up printing more linked pages than you want. A better option is to print a table of the documents linked to the current page.

  • Print table of links: Lists links on that page. Can be a handy reference

TIP: Once you have been surfing the Web for a while and frequent a site more than once, Explorer will use a feature called AutoComplete. This means that when you begin to type a URL you have been to before Explorer will show a drop-down list of sites that you can choose from. Also, if you've been to a web site before and type the URL incorrectly, Explorer will correct the error.

Additionally, you don't need to enter http://www. Explorer knows you want to go to a Web site and will fill in those bits. Or type a word in the Address Bar and press CTRL and Enter to have Explorer automatically enter http://www and .com on either side. (But, remember that not all web sites end with .com)

Help



Explorer comes with good documentation. Click on Help at the far right of the Menu Bar to see the drop-down menu.

  • Contents and Index is always available to you as a quick summary and alphabetical index to the major topics.

  • Internet Explorer Tour: Go to Microsoft for a graphic tour of IE 7.

  • Online Support: Go to Microsoft. Click on Home User to see the support options.

  • Customer Feedback Options: Send Microsoft your comments (but don't expect a reply).

  •  About Internet Explorer: The version of IE you are using.


Netscape Communicator
Communicator is the Internet suite from Netscape Communications. You can browse the Web, do e-mail, participate in newsgroups, talk and hear people live, and even build your own Web space. Each application has a distinct function and name.

Communicator began in 1997 as Communicator 4.0 (because it followed Netscape 3.0) and has progressed through several versions to the current version of 8.1.3. The look has stayed almost the same throughout.

Netscape Navigator
Navigator is the browser component to Communicator. Use it to navigate the Web, or as frequent users say - surf the Net. Approximately 40% of the people on the Net have Navigator as their browser, preferring it to Internet Explorer. With skill in using just a handful of Navigator's features, you will be able to navigate the Internet easily and comfortably.

What You Need to Know

  • Browser Parts: Learn about the main parts of the browser - control panel, menu bar, toolbar.

  • Add Bookmarks: Save addresses to the sites you'd like to use again.

  • Use History: Go back in history to find a place you found useful but didn't bookmark.

  • Get Help: Get additional information about the features of Communicator from the online help files.

The Netscape Navigator Control Panel
The Navigator control panel consists of tool buttons and bars at the top, a scroll bar on the right side, and a progress bar at the bottom.

• Title Bar:

Figure 1.7 Netscape Navigator Title Bar.

Like Internet Explorer, you can see Home Page >> Netscape.com at the very top of your screen.

• Menu Bar:

Figure 1.8 Netscape Navigator Menu Bar.

Would you like to see at a glance everything you can do with Netscape? Point the mouse arrow at File on the Menu Bar and hold down the left button. Read the drop-down menu. Repeat for all the other items.

• Navigation Toolbar:

Figure 1.9 Netscape Navigator Navigation Toolbar.

Do you prefer shortcuts? The Tool Bar gives quick access to the most frequently needed functions: go Back a page, move Forward a page, go Home to your start-up page, Print a page.

• Location Toolbar:

Figure 1.10 Netscape Navigator Location Toolbar.

Where are you? The location toolbar displays the address of the document you are reading. The address is called a URL - pronounced "you-are-ell", or Uniform Resource Locator. You can enter new URLs in this space to take you to new places. When you do that, Navigator flips to Go To.

• Personal Toolbar:
Figure 1.11 Netscape Navigator Personal Toolbar.

Navigator recommends some sites to you directly from the Personal Toolbar. The buttons in that row are quick links to Netscape services such as Web Mail (do email through the Web), Yellow Pages, and Channels at Netscape Netcenter for Web resources on various topics.

Getting Around

1. Right Click the Mouse
You can use your right mouse button to "travel through"
pages and frames. Point the mouse at a patch of clear
space and click the right mouse button once. You
will see the same box as the one on the previous
page. Choose either Back or Forward. Choosing
Back will take you back one page and choosing
Forward will take you forward one page. You can
go Back and Forward as many times as it takes you to get to where you desire.
The commands on both Web browsers are pretty much universal. For more in depth tutorials on either browser go to http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/help/default.jsp for Netscape or http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/quickref.mspx for Internet Explorer.

A Browser Alternative
If you aren't a fan of either Microsoft's or Netscape's browsers, you might want to try:

AOL
http://www.aol.com/

Mozilla
http://www.mozilla.org/releases/

Firefox
http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/1.0.7/win32/en-US/Firefox%20Setup%201.0.7.exe

Safari (MAC users)
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/safari/
 

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